wood thickness question

[bushman dan]

I just picked up some exotic lumber today and as usual it all comes a full one inch thick. The problem I have is paying good money and planing it down to 3/4". If I don't plane the wood down to that thickness then I have a ton of sanding to do for my finished piece since I am using various types of wood . My question to the more experienced wood workers out there is do you bandsaw the wood in half and use shims or am I working with wood that should be planed down to 1/2". I have done a few projects in the Kathy Wise intarsia book and very pleased with the outcome even though they seem thicker than some of the examples being sold where I live. I am even trying my hand at my own patterns with some success. Sorry about the long post but this is my first thread and I have been doing intarsia now for 6 months .

[Rolf]

It really depends on the project and where this wood will be used. Sometimes if I need to take a great deal off I slice it of the back on the band saw. Other times 1" is not enough and I would use shims. I find it easier starting out thick and then working it down to the thickness I need for the project.

[bushman dan]

wood question reply to Rolf

Thanks for such a quick answer. I like the bird and animal patterns. I would assume songbirds would be thin pieces like the tail feathers. The two fish patterns are 1" and tapered down especially the fins to 1/2" or less. Would a deer pattern start out 1" ? I just completed a great horned owl 16" high by 8" wide and the wood used is 1" thick. I was happy with the outcome since I used a sketch and put it into intarsia.

[Janette]

I find it's always better to have thicker because it's easier to thin down an individual piece as the need arises. If you plan the whole board down then sure enough, you'll come up with a project that you'll wish you hadn't.

[dedijerry]

I use 4/4 all the time and end up shimming it up sometimes. A good example is my "Praying Santa" located a few posts down the board. The blood wood was 4/4 and I used a 1/4 " shim under his arm.
Another example is my "Boot with Flowers' I used 4/4 yellowheart for the brown eyed susan's I then cut the one flower in half inverted it and used it for two flowers, I also still have 2 purple heart flowers from cutting those in half too. I'll use them somewhere sometime I know.
Saying all that... I find it better to have thick wood I can cut down rather than thin wood I'll need to shim.

Hey Bushman how some pics!

[bushman dan]

Question answered

Thanks for the feedback. I must be in the ballpark with my projects. I'll show some pics as soon as I figure out how. New to this online forum thing.